I wavered, and then sat down in the seat across from him. “So?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have an attitude?” he asked me. He spoke slowly, choosing every word with care.
“This wouldn’t be the first time,” I admitted. “But I’ve been yanked all around this country, told a million different things, shot a gun way more than I have ever wanted to, just escaped from a high security compound and watched the boy I love get shot in the ribs so yeah…a bit of attitude is kind of necessary at this point.”
Bert studied me for a moment, his eyes fixated on me. “I think that your friend…”
“Ash,” I interrupted.
“Ash, then,” he said, smoothly. “I think Ash would like to hear this too.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “You’re probably right about that. But I can’t just stay here, not knowing anything about you. I’m kind of rattled already.”
“I do not deny that,” he said. “It’s not often that someone tries to break out of Sekhmet. Most go willingly.”
“You know of Sekhmet. How is that possible?” I asked, my hands folded on the table in front of me.
“That is a story for later. What you need to know is this: I worked for a place, a safe house, for many years. Some people have heard it called Sanctuary. We have been aware of Sekhmet for years.” He paused and took a deep breath, looking a little overwhelmed by the words. “I’ve been going out on drives often, even since the Awakened struck and they released the bombs, looking for those are searching for Sanctuary. What I ran into today…I hadn’t expected. But I was prepared.”
Words failed me. It was the barest of explanations, but I knew that this was the most I was going to get out of him until Ash was well enough to hear the story as well. I was left with a thousand more questions than I’d had five minutes ago. My head was going to explode at any moment, and I felt a slight throb right above my right eye.
“It’s late. You need rest too.” He stood up, taking his glass and my glass and carrying them to the sink. He rinsed them, placing them in the drying rack and started heading down the hallway. I stood up, assuming that he wanted me to follow him and found myself in one of the small rooms. There was a twin bed and a chest of drawers. “There are clothes in the dresser that should be fairly close to your size.”
He stepped aside, letting me pass into the room. I slid a drawer open and found a few worn pairs of sweatpants. I lifted one and felt the soft fabric under my fingertips. I couldn’t wait to get out of this scratch khaki pants and this stupid tunic. “Thank you,” I said simply.
Bert nodded. “There is a bathroom down the hall, if you’d like to shower. And my room is just across from it. If you need anything…”
“I will come and find you. Got it.” I nodded. After the day I’d had, I was ready for a shower, to crawl into bed and just be alone with myself for a little bit. I waited for a few moments, as he hovered in the doorway and then made his exit. I sighed and braced myself against the dresser. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since I had left Sekhmet, left Liam behind, heard Tommy get shot and watched as Ash had bled all over me. I looked down and saw the blood all over my shirt and grimaced.
The bathroom was small but efficient. I turned the knob on the shower and was pleasantly surprised when the water was fairly warm. I stripped off the dirty clothes and shoved them into the tiny trashcan that was behind the toilet. I let the warm water run all over me, letting it wash away all the blood that had covered my body. I nearly cried when I spotted shampoo and body wash. There was even a razor sitting on the side of the tub. There was a soft layer of hair on my legs. I reached for the razor, ready to have some sort of semblance of normalcy back in my life.
I made my way back to the room, feeling refreshed and clean. I paused at the door to the room where Ash was. My hand reached for the doorknob, and it turned with ease under my palm.
“Not yet, Miss Zoey.”
I jumped, startled at the voice in the darkness of the hallway. “Jesus, Bert, creep much?”
“I know you want to see him,” he said, standing in the doorway of his room. “But not yet, I will let you know.”
I swallowed hard, nodding and turning away from the door. I flipped the light switch in my new room and crawled into bed, pulling the blanket up and over my head. I felt all that happened in the last few hours, and the tears came flowing down my cheeks and soaking the pillow beneath me. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore and fell into a restless sleep.
THREE DAYS PASSED BEFORE BERT let me see Ash.